Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

[Highwayman]

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=2434192005

 

Stalin's half-man, half-ape super-warriors

CHRIS STEPHEN AND ALLAN HALL

The Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the creation of Planet of the Apes-style warriors by crossing humans with apes, according to recently uncovered secret documents.

Moscow archives show that in the mid-1920s Russia's top animal breeding scientist, Ilya Ivanov, was ordered to turn his skills from horse and animal work to the quest for a super-warrior.

According to Moscow newspapers, Stalin told the scientist: "I want a new invincible human being, insensitive to pain, resistant and indifferent about the quality of food they eat."

In 1926 the Politburo in Moscow passed the request to the Academy of Science with the order to build a "living war machine". The order came at a time when the Soviet Union was embarked on a crusade to turn the world upside down, with social engineering seen as a partner to industrialisation: new cities, architecture, and a new egalitarian society were being created.

The Soviet authorities were struggling to rebuild the Red Army after bruising wars.

And there was intense pressure to find a new labour force, particularly one that would not complain, with Russia about to embark on its first Five-Year Plan for fast-track industrialisation.

Mr Ivanov was highly regarded. He had established his reputation under the Tsar when in 1901 he established the world's first centre for the artificial insemination of racehorses.

Mr Ivanov's ideas were music to the ears of Soviet planners and in 1926 he was dispatched to West Africa with $200,000 to conduct his first experiment in impregnating chimpanzees.

Meanwhile, a centre for the experiments was set up in Georgia - Stalin's birthplace - for the apes to be raised.

Mr Ivanov's experiments, unsurprisingly from what we now know, were a total failure. He returned to the Soviet Union, only to see experiments in Georgia to use monkey sperm in human volunteers similarly fail.

A final attempt to persuade a Cuban heiress to lend some of her monkeys for further experiments reached American ears, with the New York Times reporting on the story, and she dropped the idea amid the uproar.

Mr Ivanov was now in disgrace. His were not the only experiments going wrong: the plan to collectivise farms ended in the 1932 famine in which at least four million died.

For his expensive failure, he was sentenced to five years' jail, which was later commuted to five years' exile in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan in 1931. A year later he died, reportedly after falling sick while standing on a freezing railway platform.

[nytflyr]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

scooped!

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=917538&postcount=24

[Highwayman]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

Knew I should've finished reading that thread first.

[David Blue]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

Knew I should've finished reading that thread first.

I made the same mistake - not noticing that others were already aware of this brilliant story.

 

But after all, it's so good it's worth mentioning again.

[FenrisUlf]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=2434192005

 

Stalin's half-man, half-ape super-warriors

CHRIS STEPHEN AND ALLAN HALL

According to Moscow newspapers, Stalin told the scientist: "I want a new invincible human being, insensitive to pain, resistant and indifferent about the quality of food they eat."

 

"You know no fear, you know no pain... my fighting Uruk-Hai!"

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

Although Stalin's conception was so scientifically wrong-headed as to be practically impossible, this would certainly be an interesting conciet for a pulp game. It would also give you a chance to model the gorilla armies of the Planet of the Apes series.

 

Take a typical Gorilla from the HERO System Bestiary.

 

Increase its INT to 10 (so it can comprehend your orders)

Give it the Physical Limtiation "reduced pain sentsitivity" (this is a Disadvantage because the thing will continue fighting at points beyond which a more rational being would simply because it doesn't know how baldy it's hurt)

Add WF: Small Arms and the equivalent of army basic training (the fact that they are threatening-looking and compltely expendable is more important than their actual skill at fighting -- they're ideal for :human wave" assaults because you don't care how many of them die, and their lives are so insignificant that you could even abandon the wounded to their fate with no remorse)

Give it Distinctive Features: Apeman if humans are the campaign norm.

give it the Social Limitation Slave (or, alternative, Disposable state Property -- in either event it has no rights under the law and tis human commanders have the power to kill it on the slightest pretext with no recourse)

And keep its EGO down to 8 or so, so that the creature is willing to accept such miserbale treatment and not rebel.

 

Of course, inevtiably one of these guys is going to come along with INT 18, EGO 13 and substantial leadership skills. when that happens, you're going to have your army of apes turning against you, in ways you are not going to be prepared to deal with.

[Narratio]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

Something similar was used in the creation of the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, an early Kirby-Lee creation that fought the FF. You could check the Marvel Handbook and see what they outlined thier, as another way of taking the characters.

[FenrisUlf]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

Didn't Ant-Man face something called "The Beasts of Berlin" early in his career? I remember he met them again in an old issue of West Coast Avengers -- though the story used that old standby, radiation, instead of oddball eugenics/genetics.

[Narratio]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

Yep, that's the crew. But in the 50's radiation was the 'in thing'. You could do anything with it quickly. Breeding was a long term deal and the Communists (per comic lore) wanted total world domination and they wanted it today... by lunchtime at the latest.

 

For that, radiation was "obviously" the way to go.

[Susano]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

Although Stalin's conception was so scientifically wrong-headed as to be practically impossible, this would certainly be an interesting conciet for a pulp game. It would also give you a chance to model the gorilla armies of the Planet of the Apes series.

 

Take a typical Gorilla from the HERO System Bestiary.

 

Increase its INT to 10 (so it can comprehend your orders)

Give it the Physical Limtiation "reduced pain sentsitivity" (this is a Disadvantage because the thing will continue fighting at points beyond which a more rational being would simply because it doesn't know how baldy it's hurt)

 

Also give it STUN Only Physical (and Energy) Damage Reduction. Possibly only against "physical" attacks (bullets, blades, fire, lasers) but not against NNDs and the like.

 

Add WF: Small Arms and the equivalent of army basic training (the fact that they are threatening-looking and compltely expendable is more important than their actual skill at fighting -- they're ideal for :human wave" assaults because you don't care how many of them die, and their lives are so insignificant that you could even abandon the wounded to their fate with no remorse)

Give it Distinctive Features: Apeman if humans are the campaign norm.

give it the Social Limitation Slave (or, alternative, Disposable state Property -- in either event it has no rights under the law and tis human commanders have the power to kill it on the slightest pretext with no recourse)

 

Which sounds like how many soldiers were treated in the WWII Soviet army.

 

And keep its EGO down to 8 or so, so that the creature is willing to accept such miserbale treatment and not rebel.

 

The basic Gorilla has 8 INT and 5 EGO. There's no reason the super-ape needs more than that. Also, Phys Lims like "Loyal to the State" help.

 

Of course, inevtiably one of these guys is going to come along with INT 18, EGO 13 and substantial leadership skills. when that happens, you're going to have your army of apes turning against you, in ways you are not going to be prepared to deal with.

 

Soviet Russia, Super-Apes Turn On You!

[HeroGM]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

Yep, that's the crew. But in the 50's radiation was the 'in thing'. You could do anything with it quickly. Breeding was a long term deal and the Communists (per comic lore) wanted total world domination and they wanted it today... by lunchtime at the latest.

 

For that, radiation was "obviously" the way to go.

 

The FF came out in the 50s? Wow, must've missed those issues...

[Susano]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

The FF came out in the 50s? Wow' date=' must've missed those issues...[/quote']

 

From Wikipeida.

 

The Fantastic Four is Marvel Comics' flagship comic book superhero team, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and debuting in The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961).

 

That's pretty close, so...

[Twilight]

Re: Stalin's Legion of Super-Apes!

 

At any rate, radiation was still a popular character origin in the 60's as well so it's really a moot point.